Boes Repair business keeps on truckin'

Kim, Jeremy, Zach, and Alexis Boes near the sign at Boes Repair in Atlantic.

Jeremy Boes' repair shop repairs everything from autos to over-the-road semi trucks. Jeremy and Kim's son, Zach, almost 2, stands on a big rig, one of many repaired by his dad.

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Monday, August 6, 2012

Jeremy Boes remembers as a child handling shiny chrome tools and the sound of a car motor revving its engine as he helped his father repair cars in their driveway in Carroll.

Jeremy began helping his father fix cars when he was only 5 or 6 years old.

“We were always working on cars,” Jeremy recalls.

His father let him use his tools and taught his son what each tool could do. When Jeremy was 13 or 14, he and his dad began rebuilding cars.

Today, Jeremy, son of Terry and Sue Boes, of Carroll, is still busy fixing cars. He and his wife, Kim, are owners of Boes Repair Inc. in Atlantic.

As a student at Carroll High — he transferred to CHS from Kuemper halfway through his junior year — Jeremy was active in FFA, serving as assistant vice president. He loved learning about repairing cars and especially enjoyed welding class.

Jeremy graduated from Iowa Western Community College with an associate’s degree in applied science tool and die technology. After college he worked as a tool room technician in a bearing factory and in research and development for a scissor-lift manufacturer.

Kim, daughter of Dick and Cheryl Heman of Carroll, is the business’ bookkeeper. She alternates between working at home and at the shop, taking the shop’s laptop to and from on evenings and weekends.

Kim also works full time at MV Transportation Support Center in Elk Horn as accounts receivable lead. MV Transportation is a transportation contractor with a support center in Atlantic. It provides paratransit, shuttle and commuter bus transit services all around the world, including public school buses in New York City and even buses at the Olympic Games in London.

Kim graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in hotel restaurant management. The couple have known each other since middle school, but began dating after a night out at Bloomer’s when the two were home from college.

Jeremy and Kim have two children. Alexis is 13, and Zach will be 2 in November.

The idea for his own repair business was in Jeremy’s mind for several years before he acted on it. He had always yearned to be a business owner.

“I knew I could do it. It was just a matter of time,” said Jeremy.

Boes Repair Inc.’s sign states, “Everything from autos to semis.”

Jeremy is the sole mechanic and services and repairs cars and over-the-road semi-trucks.

The shop was incorporated in May 2008. For almost four years, Jeremy worked two jobs — a full-time job and part time at the repair shop.

Those four years were tough. During the day, Jeremy worked at Muller Livestock as a fleet coordinator in Griswold and then as a mechanic at Rick’s Auto Clinic in Atlantic. After work he headed to the shop. Many nights Jeremy did not get home until 10, 11 or even midnight and lived on very little sleep. Those late nights finally ended when Jeremy left his job at Rick’s Auto Clinic in late February this year. Now Boes Repair is Jeremy’s one and only job, and he is thoroughly enjoying being his own boss.

Jeremy no longer works day and night, but still averages around 50-60 hours a week. Jeremy makes the most of his time at home with his family.

Kim said, “It doesn’t matter if it is 6 o’clock or midnight, Jeremy’s phone gets turned off when he walks in the door.”

Jeremy and Kim live just north of Atlantic and have three acres of land. The couple considered building a shop on their property but decided they wanted to keep home and business separate.

Right now Jeremy is busy getting farmers’ trucks ready for harvest. His busiest time of the year is usually the end of August, but some farmers are getting worried and fear they may need to harvest early due to the drought.

In the future, Jeremy said, he’d like to hire an auto mechanic so he can focus solely on repairing trucks. Jeremy prefers to repair trucks.

“They’re bigger and more challenging,” he said.

He also hopes to move to a larger space. For now the space is adequate, the shop can hold three cars and three trucks, but Jeremy is hoping the shop can expand. Boes Repair’s customer base continues to grow. Jeremy said his customers’ satisfaction is his best advertising.